LTD H-101FM
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 15, 2012 1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 300

Purchased from: local guitar shop

Features: This guitar was made in 2010 in China. It has 24XJ frets, stylish flamed maple top, basswood body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, super-strat style, string-thru body with TOM bridge, passive electronics with a volume knob, tone knob, and 3-way pickup switch. The pickups are ESP LH-150. The tuners are also ESP. // 7

Sound: I play 80's heavy metal, hard rock and blues. This guitar sounds pretty good, the string-thru body gives it a rich sound. I play it through a Line 6 Spider IV 75 watt and and Marshall Lead 12 3005 mini stack. The pickups can be noisy(as most $300 guitar pickups do), but they are pretty versatle for my playing style. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: When I first bought the guitar, everything seemed fine, until I realized that the guitar had an underbow. The pickups were a little too low for what I like, but that is an easy adjustment. The quality of this guitar is especially amazing for it only being less than 300 dollars. There are absolutely no flaws in mine, except when I first bought it. // 6

Reliability & Durability: My friends and I have a garage band. We cover Metallica, Megadeth, and Guns N' Roses. I don't think I will be playing live anytime soon. I've had this guitar since May of 2010, and I think it will last long if I take care of it. The strap buttons are nice by themselves, but I always put straplocks on my guitars. Even though I don't gig, I would probably use a backup for this guitar. I have played on it a lot(about 12 hours a week)the finish has held up nicely. // 9

Overall Impression: As I stated before, I like to play heavy metal, rock and blues. This guitar is perfect for that style for beginners and experts alike. I have been playing for 6 years, and I own 5 other ESP/LTD's and 2 Ibanez's. If it was lost or stolen, I would probably save up for a higher H series model, preferably one with a Floyd Rose. The Orange flamed maple is awesome and I always get comments on how beautiful the guitar looks. ESP has amazed me once again! // 8

Sound: The sound is suitable for all styles. I use a Line 6 15 watt practise amp and even on full volume, it doesn't make any noises or buzzing. The tone is great and I love it. I play stuff such as Christian songs like hillsong to metal like Metallica or punk rock. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The action is great. The set-up was great. Pick ups were a little too close to the strings but that was easy to adjust in 5 minutes. THE FINISH will get you all the chicks. Trust me. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Yes, I've played it in many gigs. And since I'm lead guitarist at my church, I always bring a back up (Fender Strat) but it has never failed me. Strings has broke sometime but that was after abusing it too much. I have strap locks obviously since I don't want my guitar to drop xD. // 10

That's not an ESP, that's an LtD
great difference.
anyway...testetd it once.
the price/quality is o.k. pickups are lacking a bit power but, that's normal in this price range.
but sometimes there are big differences in the china-LTDs.....
I'd give a 6.

blackborrego wrote:
saint_berzerker wrote:
I have no comment on THIS guitar, but the Chinese made LTD's are probably the worst guitars I've ever handled. They literally feel like toys.
Don't generalize you haven't tried this guitar.

He never made a comment about this guitar... He clearly stated he had no comment about this guitar..
He was talking about The ones HE has tried...

Reviews are a little bit confusing, at least for people like me, who don't handle well the tricky ESP/LTD denominations. Is it an ESP (hence, a serious half-pro to pro instrument), or an LTD (a copy made in China, for those guys who think a fake Montblanc adds some class to their image)?
If it is "perfect", as stated by one of our distinguished reviewers, why does it get a 7,6? Are the pickups good or not? If they are noisy, that doesn't necessarily mean they are bad: some pickups are meant to be noisy, i.e. a high output. On the other hand, if a humbucker shows an unwanted noise ("hum", to be more precise), then something must be wrong, because that's what a humbucker is supposed to do: to kill the unwanted noise coming from the 60' cycle of a single coil.
As for guitars made in China, I agree most of them are pretty bad. One can see they are built by people who don't understand the instrument. But some of them are really good. Not those under 300 USD, of course.

To Saint Bezerker; I happen to own a Chinese made ESP LTD Viper 100-FM and I've been playing guitar for 40 years ( I'm 53 ). IMO, they are a lot better than the Chinese made Epiphones and some of Gibson's lower priced MIA models that are out today. If you have them set up and intonated properly , you'd be very surprised my friend at how great they actually sound.

Well, we'll see how I like this guitar when it comes in. I have the Viper 100-FM and the neck and body is flawless. Dark rosewood neck and the frets are top notch. I have hand issues on my fret hand. Been playing for 35 years and have 19 guitars. Strat's Gibson SG's, Epiphone SG (my favorite even though it's from China) The Viper is sooo smooth to play at a drop C tuning. Just a bit of bridge adjustment and some actives thrown in (81,85). I also got the LTD f-50. That really different guitar shape, really metal looking as in "over the top". This neck is not so great but it's not bad either! I will write about the h101fm when it comes in next week. Point is, there are some really nice chinese made instruments too. For the price range that is!!

My first guitar. Purchased it in 2012 so I could teach my sons to play. It is an LTD, but mine is from Indonesia, not China. The action came a little high, but the feel is fine. The pick-ups are muddy. They are muddy on my guitar and on MH 100QM. I use it as my beater, so it goes everywhere (beach, etc.) and still looks/plays fine. My other guitar is a Schecter Blackjack. Quality wise, there is a night and day difference (as there should be). The LTD is a brick that can take a beating, the Blackjack weighs a ton but rings beautifully. I keep the LTD because it solid for travel and kids. Definitely perfect for a beginner.